49 Comments
Now then. I did a rare thing and used the third drop-down translation; "Vicious" because although "Mean"="Vicious" in the USA it is fraught with problems and anomalies in the UK and it is unfortunate that DUO invariably uses American English even if this can cause problems, (I'm mindful of the scores of people using this site for whom English is a second language). I am surprised, given the context (we're speaking of a dog here, not a human and therein is a major problem) "Vicious" is only the third choice of the translations suggested, but would more often than not be used to describe a dangerous dog. The other two were "Mean" and "Malicious". I would surely use Malicious to describe an act rather than a person or animal and I feel this too is an unfortunate choice fraught with problems not only for those whose English is a second language but also for those whose English is not American. (Please don't report me to the Un-American Activities Bureau).
946
I entirely agree with you. There are some words that, with effort, one can imagine an American using, and one knows — from painful experience — that that is what must be used if one wants a quiet life. However, "mean" in this context would simply never occur to a British speaker. Is it really something that an adult American would say about a dangerous dog? Time to throw some tea into the sea, I think.
- 228
I'm in Canada, but mean is absolutely a word we use to describe an ill-tempered dog - probably even more commonly than we'd use vicious.
I never hear mean used in the sense of petty, miserly, etc. unless I'm watching British TV or film.
- 111
Entirely correct. "Mean" is a word that implies malice, of which dogs are not capable.
That'd be mauvais, méchant is like a lower level of "evilness"
Some clarification would be nice to be honest.
I used "naughty" which is what I was called as a child and it was wrong. times change, perhaps?
- 471
I agree that "naughty" seems like a better fit for something a dog would do
I learnt that "méchant meant naughty, as in a child being naughty. Most dogs are naughty rather than vicious, in my experience.
Doesn't mechant mean evil, as well? Or is this just something DuoLingo should accept?
Easy way to remember that méchant means vicious or malicious: imagine a MErCHANT in a Paris fashion outlet suddenly barking, foaming at the mouth, pouncing on people and furiously tearing clothing to shreds
Mechant is what you would call a child when he/she is being naughty and def no vicious
- 1658
Context is an important influence. When used to describe an animal, it would indeed mean "vicious" or "mean". There is more than one word that may apply and there are shades of meaning from mean, nasty, malicious, vicious.
I'm American but I live in France right now teaching children and "méchant" is used all the time to mean "naughty". While I have occasionally heard it in a more negative tone implying something more serious like "mean" or "nasty" I typically hear adults (or even kids) say it to children who have done something bad (like cheating during a game or drawing on another kid's paper) but not bad enough to warrant an actual punishment or talking to (like pushing or hitting or calling names).
- 1658
The context in which you find the word will influence how it may be interpreted.
- 791
I have asked this questions many times and in many places over the past year of study but have yet to find the answer...how do I say "my cat/dog is naughty" if I am not allowed to use the word "méchant" for "naughty" in this particular instance? Thank you in advance!
12/3/18
Hiya Uma. It is a thing called "Usage." Do you really think that a dog can be Wicked as can a human?
Like when you say 'énorme' replacing 'huge' and not with 'big'. And with that, i mean, yes, it is too soft.
No, not at all. Mean usually means cruel or unkind. An older, but not often used, meaning is to describe someone who is mean with money, which implies they don't like to spend it, particularly on other people..
Naughty implies "bad", but not in a very bad way. For example a child can be called naughty, or a pet such as a kitten or puppy you are fond of. Naughty behaviour can be a nuisance, but not in a harmful way.
So then "mechant" is "mean" - as in cruel, like a hurtful bully, or is it closer to "naughty" - as in a naughty, but kind of cute pixie, child, or puppy?
Oh! Sweetpoiszon. Non/Nah/Nope. It is very bad. Oh so MEAN. Awful. Blood-Curdling! CERTAINLY NOT PUPPY!!!!!!!
I think it depends on the context. Naughty is a word with a lot of nuances. Here are some translations of naughty and different contexts from Google translate:
vilain ugly, naughty, nasty, dirty, wicked, horrid
méchant wicked, bad, nasty, evil, mean, naughty
coquin naughty, rascally, kinky, roguish, saucy, pert
polisson naughty, roguish
pas sage naughty
désobéissant disobedient, naughty, disorderly
grivois saucy, bawdy, ribald, salacious, naughty, blue
paillard bawdy, ribald, dirty, smutty, naughty
- 1354
bonnie.sjoberg - Elsewhere in the comments sections on Duo knowledgeable native French speakers warn against trusting Google Translate's translations -- apparently it is notorious for error.
The Collins French-English online dictionary makes a distinction in meaning when méchant is used with children as opposed to when used with people generally. It seems to say that only in reference to a child would you translate this as 'naughty'. When referring to adults it indicates the meaning is stronger, it uses the term 'nasty'. Also, when méchant is used with animals, it says the meaning is 'vicious'.
http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/french-english/m%C3%A9chant
And the Larousse dictionary says that when speaking of a person méchant means wicked.
http://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais-anglais/m%c3%a9chant/49943
In fact, the opposite is true. Mean as in "careful with money" is the more common of the two uses.
- 1658
It is regional variation. BrE definition is more often "not generous"; in other regions the primary use is "unkind". Source: Cambridge English Dictionary
Yes, "not generous" is the standard meaning, whilst "unkind" is a regional dialectic usage.
- 1658
To be clear, both expressions are regional. "Not generous" is considered the standard meaning in the UK. "Unkind" is the standard meaning in other areas.
If I wanted to say is your dog mean would I say, Êtes-vous votre chien mechant?
No, your sentence actually says: "Are you your mean dog?" The correct translation would be "Votre chien est-il méchant?". "Est-ce que votre chien est méchant?", or even just "Votre chien est mechant?"
Duo is a programme and Bad may not have been added. In my less than perfect French, for Vicious I would have used Viceux, but Duo's programmers have their ideas and please understand that although it does have its little flaws, it's free and one will get no better from Babbel (eg) for £400.
- 791
Hi Annie, apparently 'méchant" is naughty ONLY when used in reference to children.
Méchant re animals means vicious//mean.
Despite my best efforts I have yet to discover a word that means "naughty" in reference to animals.
;]
So i used naughty as well and was marked wrong. I read that the context does matter a lot. So when it is an animal it needs to be vicious, which is a word for mean etc.. So how would you say that your dog is naughty ? And how do you say that a human is naughty ? Like when your parther for example teases you and you tell him he is a bit naughty for doing that, are you still supposed to say méchant?
- 791
Good luck with finding the answer to that wales48....I've been asking for 2 years but no-one seems to know!
If you find the answer please do share it with us all :]
This lesson's being very mean to animals.
Would "méchant chien!" translate to "bad dog!" then? And is "Le chien est mauvais" idiomatically correct?
I agree. The people at Duo must be a bunch of dog-haters. No wonder the sentences on here are so unimaginative. There are no bad dogs -- just bad owners. I'm a vet tech, and this sentence is not fair.
